Improvement in spring-hinges



L. BOMMER.

SPRING HNGE.

No. 40,879. Patent-ed Deo. 8, 1863.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEieE.

LORENZ BOMMER, NN YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN SPIRAL SPRING BUIT HINGE MANUFACTURING COMPANY.

IMPROVEMENT IN SPRING-HINGES.

Speeilication Ibrming part ol' lmtters Patent No. 40,879. 'lated December IQ, 1863.

To H lzr/mm i lnmy concern lie. it known that l, LORENZ HUMMER, oi' the city ot' New York, in the county ot' New York and State o" New York, have invented certain new and nsetul Improvements in Spring lhitbllinges; and l do hereby declare that the l'ollowing is a full and exact. descrip tion thereof', reference being had to thel accompanying drawings, and to the letters otreI`erence marked t-hereon, in which- Fgure l. is a vertical diametricalsection through the common eye ol the hinge, showing the manner otl holding the ends of the spiral spring, and also showing the inside cylinder or hollow pintle. Fig. 2 is a horizont-al section through Fig. 1 taken in the plane iudicated by the dotted lineJJm, marked thereon. Figs. 3 and l are perspective views ot' the top and bottom caps ol the eye ot' the hinge.

Similar letters ot` ret'erenee indicate orresponding parts in the several ligures.

This invention relates to certain improvements in that class ot' butt-hinges wherein a spring is introduced within the eye ol' the. hingel l'or the purpose ol either opening or closing a door, gate, Nc., to which the hinges may be allxed.

It consists, tirst, in the introduction within the hollow eye ol the hinge ot' a hollow stein orcylinder, which is intended to receive within it a spiral spring, and which is also lintended asan axis or hearing l'or the eyes ot a sectionaleyed hinge, as will he hereilnil'ter fully described and represented.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the leal" or wing ot' one halt` of the hinge, and c a/ are the eyes which are cast with and belong to this wing. is the leaf ot' the other haltot' the hinge, and b l1 are its eyes. The eyes ay a. l b ot' this hinge are ot' an equal diameter, and oi" such a diameter as to admit; ot' the introduction within them ot a very strong spiral spring, C, and acylinder, .1), which latter contains the spring. The eylinder i) is made ol' very stout sheet-iron and fits looselyY within the common eye of the hinge, as shown in F" s. Yl and 2 ot' the drawings. This cylinder (l is not quite as long as e`abuts against the end ot' eye af, and pin l1', A

the common eye ot' the hinge, and thereftre it does not extend out to the ends ot' the eye. A space is thus left at each end ot'. the eye ot' the hinge. for the. reception ot' the necks ot' the two caps E F. The use ot' the cylinder l) dispenses with a central solid stem, which has been hitherto n sed in thesectional-oyedhinges, and admits ot' the employment of a spiral spring, 1.),t'or without such a cylinder, U,it will be readily seen that a. hollow sectional-eyed hinge wouldnothave any laxial bearing. This hollow sectional-eyed hinge is much stronger than that class of hinges which have only two eyes, or one eye on each leaf, as instanced in latent No. 36,976, and for all large doors,

gates, the., the sectional eye-hinge is more desirable. I have therefore introduced within the hollow eye ot the hinge the hollow cylinder, which covers the joints and serves the purpose ot' an axis or bearing ior the eyes ot the two leaves A l5 and keeps the two parts ofthe hinge together, allowing them at the same time to have the usual free swinging motion. l tlnisdispense with a central axis or solid pintle common in sectional eye-hinges, and introduce within the cylinder l) a strong spiral spring, C, which is nearly it' not quite as long as the cylinder l). The ends ot' the wire ot' this spring C are bent diametrieally across the ends ot this spring, so as to pass between the prongs of the bifurcated lugs bl- G on caps E F, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 ot' the annexed drawings, for the purpose ot' being held rigidly7 in their places by said lugs.

The method hitherto adopted ot' passing the ends ot' the spring wire into periorations which were made iu the ends of the caps E F, as described in Patent No. 36,976, has been found objectionable, as the ends of the wire were liable to slip out of their places, the wire to bend, Xe.; but where the en`ds ot' the springwire are bent, as hereinabove described and represented, and passed between the forks of the bit'ureated lugs Gr G the ends ot' the spring will be substantially held in their places.

The two caps E F dil't'er somewhat one with theotherintheirconstruction. rlhelowercap, F, has an annular depression or neck which tits into the end ot' eye c( ot leat A. The ila-nge -ivhich passes diametrieally through eye a and cap F, keepsthis cap, rigidly ixed to the eye ci ot leaf'A.

G is thebifureated lug of cap F, which holds the lower end of the spring G.

Cap E; or the upper cap, which is to be ro-V tated in the operation of increasing or diminishing the action ot spring C upon the leaves of thehin ge, consists ot' an enlarged perforated portion,` 7.,', a reduced perforated portion, n,

an annular groove, p, iiange p', and the bifurcated lug G, which latter corresponds 4with the lug or cap F. The portions app and lug G pass into the eye b ot' leaf B, and the portions n and p tit snugly but not very tightly Within this eyeb.

ihe perfor-ations s s in portion k are used merely for the purpose of receiving the end ot' alever t'or turning the cap E to the right or to the, lett; but. the pert'orations o 'v in the neck n are intended to receive the end of the setting-pin u, which passes through a perforation near the upper end of the eye b ot' leavt` l and locls oi' ailixes the leat' 13 to the cap F. The annular groove p receives a -number ot' screw-pinsff, which are tapped through eye b ot' leat ll. lhe.ends ot' these pinsffproject into the groovep and allow the cap 'E to rotate treely, but keep this cap from being forced or draen out ot' its place. It will now be seen that cap F is rigidly fixed to the eye a. ,of leaf A by means of pin i, and-'that cap E can be rotated so as to Wind up or unwind spring C, and also 'that this cap E can be xed to the eye b of leaf B by introducing pin u? through eye b into any one of the radial perforations v o in neck n., W'hen pin w is not in its place, the hinge will work like auy'ordinary hinge Without a spring, and by rotating the cap E so as to coil up spring U the action or force of this spring can be increased to any desired degree. .p

lilaving thus described my invention, what l claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters latent, is-

' 1.` rlhe hollow cylinder l), or its equivalent,

* when applied to` the sectional spring-hinge es sentia-ily as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The annular groove. p in cap E, or its equivalcnt,.in conjunction with pinsff, as and for. therpeurposes herein set torth.

` 3. rlhe combination ot'cylindcrl), caps .ll l, and spring C, or their equivalents, substatitially as and for the purposes herein set forth. LORENZ BOMMER.

Witnesses: y

'Mosu's B. MAGL/n'. PETER A. LEMON. 

